VINCENNES, vIn-snz', Ind., city, county seat of Knox County, on the Wabash River and on the Pennsylvania, the Baltimore and Ohio, and the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and Saint Louis railroads, about 105 miles south west of Indianapolis, and 50 miles north of Evansville. It is in a fertile agricultural region, a rich prairie section, on a gradual slope to the river. There are a round hundred of manu facturing establislunents, with annual products approaching $4,000,000. The chief naanufac tures are tour, Itunber products, sewer-pipe, brick, tile, wrapping paper, iron and tin prod ucts, glass, funuture, paper, agricultural im plements, cement, plaster, and foundry and machine-shop products. The city is laid out in squares, with streets ne.arly all 50 feet wide. Harrison Park, the plaza at the city-hall, and the Courthouse square are the chief park-lands owned by the city. The principal public build ings are the county courthouse ($400,000), the city-hall ($100,000), the government building, the old hall where the legislature met, the house occupied by William Henry Harrison when he was governor of the Terntory, the church once used as the Roman Catholic cathedral, the Vin cennes Sanatorium and Saint Vincent's Orphan age for boys. The educational institutions are two high schools, one for white pupils and one for colored (1882), Vincennes University, founded in 1806. Sand Rost Academy (R.C.), public and parish graded schools, a public library and three school libraries. There are four banks and three daily besides several weekly newspapers. Vincennes was incorporated as a borough in 1839 and as a city in 1856. The government is administered tmder the charter of 1867 which provides for a mayor, who holds office rtvo years, and a city council. In 1900 Vincennes had a population of 10,249; (1910) 14,1395; (1918 est) 17,500.
History.— In the vicinity of Vincennes are many Indian mounds. The first missionaries and explorers, who entered this part of Indiana by way of the river, found, where is now the city, an Indian village called Chip-kaw-kay. Vincennes is the oldest place in the State. In 1702 the French built here a fort, and for sev eral years it was the seat of the empire of France in the Ohio Valley. French from Can ada settled here, and the place was called 4The Post,* for over 30 years, when the name was changed to Vincennes, in honor of Francois Morgan de Vinsenne, who had been one of the officers of the fort. In 1763 the British obtained possession of the place, but owing to disturbed conditions in the East General Gage gave the fort but little attention, so Vincennes had only a self-government until 1777, when, on 19 May Lieutenant-Governor Abbot of Detroit arrived and took possession. He called the place Fort Sackville. The British incited the Indians to attacks on the whites who were under French rule or who were in rebellion against Great Britain. George Rogers Clark, of Kentucicy, desiring to protect his country from those dis astrous attacks, conceived the plan of capturing Detroit, Vincennes and Kaskaskia, and sub mitted his plan to Patrick Henry, then gover nor of Virginia. After much argument on the part of Clark and hesitancy on the part of Henry, the governor authorized Clarlc to re cruit 350 Virginians for the expedition, and gave him money and anununition. Claric pro ceeded with the undertaking, and 4 July ins captured Kaskaskia. With the aid of Father Gibault, of Kaskaskia, Clark secured the good will of the French people of Vincennes. In 1779 Clark's Virginians took possession of Fort Sacicville. It was some time before the British in Detroit heard of the changes in the Ohio Valley. Then a force of 500 regulars and In dians under the British commander, Henry Hamilton, embarked for Vincennes. Captain Helm, in charge of the place, did not learn of the approach of the British until they were within three miles of the fort. His garrison consisted of himself, a few inhabitants and one American soldier. The inhabitants went to their homes and Helm planted his two cannon ; he took charge of one and the remainder of his force stood by the other. When Hamilton de
manded a surrender, Helm said no man could enter the fort until the terms of surrender were made known. Hamilton promised them the honors of war and then Helm and his force of one man surrendered. Clark did not hear .of the fate of Helm for some time. Francs Vigo (after whom the county is named), a merr.hant of Saint Louis, and a patriotic American, offered to go to Vincennes to attend to furnishing the garrison with supplies in accordance with Hehn's request, sent to Clark before the arrival of the Bntish. When Vigo approached Vin mimes he was more than surprised to learn that the place was in possession of the British, who at once arrested him. He demanded re lease on the ground that he was frotn Saint Louis, but Hamilton retained him until it was discovered that the French inhabitants would cut off the source of supplies for the soldiers unless Vigo were released. Vigo was filially given his freedom, on condition that °on his way to Saint Louis he would do no hostile act to the British interest.) This he promised, and at once took a canoe, descended the Wabash to the Ohio, then to the Mississippi and arrived at Saint Louis without breaking his pledge. As the boat touched the shore, Vigo sprang on land, then back into the boat, and started for Kaskaskia, to inform Clark about Vincennes. Clark saw at once that unless something were done the whole Ohio Valley would be lost to America. Desperite measures were resorted to, for transporting a small force of poorly clothed men was difficult at any time, but almost. impossible in winter. On 5 Feb. 1779 he sent 64 men by boats, carrying provisions and am munition, and with 170 men they began a march of 200 miles. There were no tents, no towns or even settlements where they were sure of find, ing friends. All the inhabitants of Kaskaskia accompanied them the first few miles of the journey; then soldiers and citizens knelt and the parish priest gave them his blessing, and Clark and his men marched on to Vincennes, leaving the people on their kness praying for the success of the American nation. On the 23d of February Clark and his men arrived at the heights back of Vincennes, and sending word to the French inhabitants that they ,werg there, the hungry soldiers were soon supplied with provisions. That night the Americans marched into the town and at once began an attack on the fort. The next morning Hamil ton surrendered, and the American flag was placed on the fort, and then and there the name was changed from Fort Sackville to Fort Patrick Henry. The place was held by Vir ginia until 1783 when it was ceded to the United States. In 1787 the first court was held in the place, and in 1800 the Indiana Territorry was established and Vincennes was made the capital. In 1813 the territorial capital was re moved to Corydon. A university and a library had been established. The first church in the Northwest Territory was built in Vincennes, in 1742, by Father Meurin, from France. The first school in Indiana was established here by Father Rivet.
Vincennes brought to the United States the great Middle West and made the Louisiana Purchase a possibility. Had it not been for the bravery, intelligence and patriotism of George Rogers Clark and his Virginians, and the devoted French of the Ohio Valley, the western limit of the United States would have been, for many years at least, the Alleghany Mountains. But Vincennes has done more for the preservation and e.xtension of the Union; here Aaron Burr received his first and most decided check when he sought to break up the Union. The first provision made by any gov ernment for the care of the insane was made by the Indiana constitution, and to Benjamin Parke of Vincennes is due the credit of in serting the clause regarding the matter. Not only may Vincennes, °on the banks of the Wabash,') be called °The Key to the North west,)) but also a historic city that was the scene of many heroic deeds. Consult Law, (The Colonial History of Vincennes,) and Smith in Powell's (Historic Towns of the Westeni States.)